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Beatles News
In the earliest days of The Beatles, the fact that John Lennon and Paul McCartney began composing their own material as opposed to using songs provided by other songwriters was highly unusual. In fact, at the time — the early 1960s — it simply wasn't done. Undoubtedly in the beginning it was probably seen more as an oddity rather than an indication of the duo ultimately being credited as one of the great songwriting teams of all time.
"It wasn't the norm," Bill Harry, editor of Liverpool's Mersey Beat, the first and most recognized newspaper devoted to the local music scene, and lifelong friend of The Beatles, explains in an exclusive interview. "In America you have the Brill Building and things like that, with professional songwriters like Carole King and different people. That was the situation. The songwriters wrote the songs and the artists were given songs by the songwriters. It was similar in Britain with the A&R men. For instance, [producer] George Martin virtually insisted that The Beatles do 'How Do You Do It' by Mitch Murray for their first single, and they eventually had to talk him out of it. He finally agreed. When they first said they wanted to do their original numbers, he said, 'When you details
The debate has been raging for decades, and it will never die. The two iconic British invaders are inextricably linked in history, influencing and rivaling each other in near equal measure. The Beatles may be the most celebrated rock band ever, but the Stones are the “Greatest Rock ‘n Roll Band in the World.” It’s like a battle of champions in sports, but without any rules or a scoreboard. So let’s approach this as if it were a sports series—an old-school, best-of-five, winner take all.
What are the categories to represent the games in this series? Using some of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame’s criteria—honorees must have “demonstrat[ed] unquestionable musical excellence and talent” and “had a significant impact on the development, evolution and preservation of rock & roll”—and some other factors that help quantify greatness, we came up with the following:
Innovation: Pioneering achievements that paved the way for others to follow. Doors the band opened that perhaps otherwise would have remained closed.
Inspiration: The number and quality of the groups that are deemed by music historians and critics to have built their so details
A daft sketch about a fictional Scot created by a teenage John Lennon has gone on show in his home city of Liverpool.
The Beatle’s widow Yoko Ono loaned many treasured items to a new exhibition entitled Double Fantasy – John and Yoko.
Featured in the display at the Museum of Liverpool until next April is the “Daily Hool (Scotch edition)” made in 1957, when Lennon was 16. He creates Fungus Mucdungheap, dressed in a “drainpipe kilt”. Lennon spent happy holidays as a boy in Edinburgh and Durness in Sutherland
His handwritten newspaper cost “1 haggis” and he describes Fungus as “the son of a bagpipe who invented the haggae (plural)”.
Lennon’s readers are informed that “some Scotchmen live in caves” and “walk on their hands to save their shoes – not that they’re mean”. It finishes by saying: “Some Scotchmen have tartan hair instead of a kilt, silly n*****s,” borrowing a racist word in wider use at the time.
Source: john-lennon.com
In the decades since the Beatles’ 1970 breakup, the group’s rise and fall has been told as a myth. It’s also been told via children’s story, salacious gossip, dry history, detailed diaries, technical manuals, cartoons, and graphic novels. There are volumes dedicated to their recording equipment, encyclopedias chronicling all of the music and film the group has yet to release, collections of the photos from before they were stars—basically, if you can think of an idea related to John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr, it’s been published. This constant trickle of books can overwhelm even steadfast Beatlemaniacs, but the greatness of the music has also drawn out greatness within authors. The best books about the Beatles rank among the best pop culture writing—and criticism—ever.
Source: Stephen Thomas ErlewineContributor/pitchfork.com
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In honor of the 50th anniversary of the classic animated Beatles film Yellow Submarine , an authorized graphic-novel adaption of the movie will be published on August 28 by Titan Comics.
You can get a preview of the colorful book by checking out a new video trailer that's been posted on the company's YouTube channel . The clip features animated scenes from various parts of the comic, along with text that reads, "Join John , Paul , George and Ringo on a nautical adventure as they battle to free Pepperland from the music-hating Blue Meanies."
The novel was adapted and illustrated by Bill Morrison , who's the current editor of MAD magazine and also has served as an illustrator for The Simpsons comics.
Judging by the trailer, the book's illustrations faithfully recreate the dazzling, psychedelic imagery featured in the film, which premiered in July of 1968.
Source: Midwest Communications Inc./wabx.net
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Historic guitars that belonged to The Band 's Robbie Robertson and the late George Harrison both sold at a New York City memorabilia auction over the weekend for more than $400,000.
Robertson's 1965 Fender Telecaster , which Bob Dylan played frequently during his 1966 "going electric" tour, fetched $490,000 on Saturday at the "Music Icons" sale organized by Julien's Auctions and hosted by the Hard Rock Café. The guitar also was used by Dylan and Robertson at various famous recording sessions and was played by Robbie at Woodstock and other historic concerts.
Meanwhile, a Hofner Club 40 model guitar that belonged to Harrison from 1959 to 1966, and was the first electric guitar that he ever owned, went for $430,000 after being estimated to sell for between $200,000 and $300,000.
Source: Midwest Communications Inc./wabx.net
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Rob Sheffield's book Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World is a celebration of the band, from the longtime Rolling Stone columnist. It tells the weird saga of how four lads from Liverpool became the world's biggest pop group, then broke up – yet somehow just kept getting bigger. Dreaming the Beatles, out in paperback on June 19th, follows the ballad of John, Paul, George and Ringo, from their Sixties peaks to their afterlife as a cultural obsession. In this section, Sheffield explores one of the Beatles' unheard treasures – the May 1968 Esher demos they recorded at George Harrison's pad, preparing for the White Album, not suspecting their friendship was about to turn upside down.
Source: Rob Sheffield/rollingstone.com
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Beatlemaniacs are in for a treat … in the form of rare photographs.
As the story goes, one fine summer day back in July 1968, British photographer Tom Murray photographed Paul, John, George, and Ringo throughout the streets of London. The shoot took place quite literally on the run, so as to avoid screaming Beatles fans in hot pursuit. This frenzied dash around the city was the inspiration for the collection of images: “The Mad Day: Summer of ’68.” These images would prove to be the final publicity shoot for the Fab Four together (they broke up in 1970), and are often hailed the most significant color photos of the band.
Here’s where it gets interesting.
Source: Holly/boweryboogie.com
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A pro-dairy and meat journalist has blasted ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney for saying that 'meat-free is the new rock and roll'.
Writing for Dairy Herd website, veteran writer Dan Murphy accused McCartney of 'waxing ridiculous on vegan food'.
He was responding to an interview published by The Daily Telegraph, in which the musician talked about his late wife Linda's impact on the veggie food scene. During the interview, vegetarian campaigner McCartney talked about eponymous food line launched by his wife Linda.
He said: "I remember going out to a dinner with my then father-in-law [Lee Eastman, Linda McCartney’s father] at Claridge's. I said 'I'm vegetarian', and they looked puzzled.
"They brought me a plate of vegetables – just steamed veg. They couldn't think beyond that. We thought, hmm, we've got to try to do something to remedy this."
Source: Maria Chiorando/plantbasednews.org
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VICENZA, Italy — When you live in Europe, a long weekend can find you in any number of fabulous locales. From Venice, you can be in Paris in about an hour, Barcelona in two, and Dublin in less than three.
Consider Liverpool, England.
Liverpool may have never been on your “To Go” list, but if you want to explore the United Kingdom outside of London, eat some fish ‘n’ chips, and see where the Fab Four grew up, it just may be perfect for your next weekend getaway.
The excitement starts when you see the yellow submarine at the John Lennon Airport.
Home to The Beatles and proud of it, this maritime city in northwest England has John, Paul, George and Ringo and a whole lot more to offer a traveler. Arrive, get settled, and then head out to explore the U.K.’s fifth largest city on the River Mersey.
The Albert Dock area on the river boasts many of the city’s attractions; if you can find a place to stay nearby, it’s an excellent starting point.
In that area, visitors will find The Beatles Story, Merseyside Maritime Museum and International Slavery Museum, and contemporary art haven, the Tate Gallery. For a weekend visit, select two or three & details
Alan Loveday, from Palmerston North, was a world-renowned violinist, who also played on one of The Beatles' most beloved recordings.
It's one of the most recognisable choruses in pop music, and a Kiwi can be found among its 'nah nah nahs'.
The Beatles' Hey Jude is turning 50 this year, but a milestone of a more classical kind will honour the late violin virtuoso from Manawatū who took part in its recording.
Alan Loveday, recognised as one of the finest classical violinists of the 20th century, will be honoured with a tribute concert by New Zealand Symphony Orchestra soloists in his home city of Palmerston North in June.
But it is his contribution to one of pop's enduring classics that will likely resonate most with Kiwis.
Source: stuff.co.nz
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It was 55 years ago this week when four young lads headed into Norwich to make music... and they had been “taught” how to play rock ‘n’ roll in Germany by a city-born rebel rouser.
When they played the Grosvenor Ballroom, Prince of Wales Road, Norwich, on May 17, 1963, I doubt if anyone realised their links with one Norwich man.
Anthony Esmond Sheridan McGinnity, known as Tony Sheridan, never got the credit he deserved. When it came to playing the guitar he was the one they all looked up to.
The boys who called him “The Teacher” were The Beatles who went on to become the biggest pop group the world has ever seen.
Mention his name to many of the top names from the music scene in the late 50s/early 60s and they will say: “Tony Sheridan. The guitarist. What a character. I never know he came from Norwich.”
Source: Derek James/edp24.co.uk
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The first thing that catches your attention in Across the Universe: The Beatles in India, written by Ajoy Bose is the bright cover with illustrations of the four members of the Beatles sharing cover space along with sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar, Maharishi and all the others that were relevant to the Beatles story in India. However, the back cover art is a real classic that is inspired by Abbey Road and it shows the four band members on Lakshman Jhula. While there is hardly anyone that didn’t know of the long affair that the Beatles had with India, it was about time that an Indian should write about the Beatles episode in India. And, so it came from a veteran journalist, Ajoy Bose. He has authored two books before, one on the Emergency and the other on Mayawati, both extremely political in nature. Thus, it was quite a surprise to see Bose writing on the Beatles.
Source: Kalyani Majumdar/freepressjournal.in
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t happened quickly, Derek Taylor’s transformation. You can see it in three pictures, captured over four years. The earliest comes from 1964 when Taylor was The Beatles’ press officer. Accompanying the band on their first full American tour, the one stoked by Beatlemania, he was more like a circus ringmaster than a PR. The snapshot, taken during a Dallas press conference on 18 September, shows him dressed immaculately and negotiating the ensuing chaos – police officers, reporters and fans all pushing and grabbing. This was a timeless look, though the tab-collar shirts, thin-lapel Italian suits, mid-length hair now epitomises the Sixties. Taylor – then a 32-year-old whose background included national service and an educational stint on Fleet Street as a reporter – is in the eye of the storm with his long-haired charges, a solid phalanx battling as best they could.
Source: John Savage/gq-magazine.co.uk
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Yoko Ono, widow of slain Beatle John Lennon, and their son, Sean Lennon, were VIP guests at a new exhibition which opened in Liverpool Friday.
The exhibition at the Museum of Liverpool is the first in the world to tell the story of Lennon and Ono in their own words.
Ono, who is 85, was loudly applauded as she, aided by her son Sean Lennon and using a walking stick, told of her affection for Liverpool, birthplace of the former member of the Beatles.
The groundbreaking exhibition, Double Fantasy -- John & Yoko, runs until April 22, 2019 and is expected to attract visitors from across the world.
It celebrates the meeting of two of the world's most creative artists and reveals how they expressed their deep and powerful love for one another through their art, music, film and ongoing "Imagine Peace" campaign.
The exhibition has opened just a day before in the 50th anniversary of the couple's first night together (May 19, 1968), when they worked through the night and produced their first album, Unfinished Music No.1: Two Virgins.
Source: xinhuanet.com
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